Skip to main content
Please wait, loading

Job summary

Main area
Chaplaincy
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 6
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Part time - 22.5 hours per week
Job ref
249-7703808
Employer
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Great Western Hospital
Town
Swindon
Salary
£38,682 - £46,580 per annum pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
02/03/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Chaplain

NHS AfC: Band 6

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital. 

Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.

We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.

If we receive a high volume of applications, we may close adverts prior to the published closing date. Therefore, we advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.

Job overview

Part time Hours - 2 x 22.5 hours per week

Competent Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care Practitioners from any Religious Denomination or Psycho-Social Pastoral Community are required to supplement the service of the Spiritual, Religious and Religious Care: Chaplaincy Department to address and fulfil the delivery of Spiritual and Pastoral Care Services within this Acute Healthcare environment. We are looking for highly motivated and experienced ordained or accredited personnel to work with the Spiritual, Religious and Religious Care Team which includes trained volunteers. The selected candidate will be expected to relate pastorally to all levels of the organisation, whether patients’ relatives or staff and to innovate and work flexibly to deliver the highest quality of Spiritual, Religious and Religious care in line with Clinical Governance Development Plans, protocols, guidelines and standards to which the Hospital complies.

Main duties of the job

Share the provision of a comprehensive Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care Service within the Trust that seeks to meet the spiritual, pastoral and religious needs of patients and those significant to them, 
service users, staff, and students. 
To be a reference point for spiritual, pastoral and religious care matters within the organisation and a link with spiritual, pastoral and religious community agencies outside the organisation.
Contribute to the Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care Team in the Chaplaincy department by providing specialist knowledge and expertise in matters relating to spiritual and religious beliefs, experiences,
and practices.

Working for our organisation

Our STAR values – Service, Teamwork, Ambition and Respect – are a golden thread running through everything we do. These values serve as a guiding principle, driving us towards our vision of delivering great joined up services to our local community. Whether at home, in the community, or within the hospital, our goal is to empower individuals to lead independent and healthier lives.

 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Ensure good communication and collaboration with all members of the Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care Team
Follow established procedures and policies.
Contribute to the effective operation of a duty rota.
Share in the provision of cover – making decisions on own initiative about spiritual, pastoral and religious needs in crisis situations, responding to emergency calls while meeting the required response time.
Participate in the Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care role in Major Incident.
Contribute to caseload planning within the Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care team and the allocation of patients to volunteers.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent work or life experience) with demonstrable learning in a relevant field such as counselling, pastoral care, psychology, psychotherapy, religious studies or theology.
  • Endorsement to practice as a healthcare chaplain by a recognized/established sponsoring faith community or belief group.
  • Evidence of annual continued professional development relevant to healthcare chaplaincy to UKBHC standards.
Desirable criteria
  • Postgraduate qualification (or equivalent life or work experience or working towards) with demonstrable outcomes of learning relevant to healthcare chaplaincy.
  • It is not compulsory for Chaplains to be registered with the UKBHC, but the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care recommend choosing them from an Accredited register.
  • Qualification (or working towards) in pastoral supervision (such as those recommended by The Association for Pastoral Supervision and Education), coaching, management, or leadership

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Approximately 1600 hours of professionally supervised clinical practice as a designated healthcare chaplain.
Desirable criteria
  • Evidence that the candidate proactively practices Continuous Professional Development. Knowledge of current research in spirituality in healthcare.
  • Experience of supervising volunteers or healthcare pastoral assistants/care workers

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardVeteran AwareApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveDisability confident leaderInvestors in People: Goldhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/kickstart-scheme-employer-resources/kickstart-scheme-brand-guidelinesCare Leaver CovenantStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into healthArmed Forces Covenant

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Christopher Mattock
Job title
Lead Chaplain
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01793 604288
Apply online nowAlert me to similar vacancies